Tyre Baling for Italian Processors: Equipment for Mediterranean Operations

By:     Conor Murphy

Italy’s tyre recycling sector operates under the PFU Decree framework (D.M. 182/2019), which establishes the legal obligations for tyre producers, authorised consortia, and processing companies handling Pneumatici Fuori Uso (end-of-life tyres). The Italian market generates approximately 350,000 to 380,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres per year, making it the second largest PFU stream in the EU after Germany. Processing routes include granulation for crumb rubber, thermal recovery for TDF, pyrolysis, and civil engineering applications. Tyre baling is an intermediate step that improves the logistics and economics of all these processing routes by reducing transport cost and improving storage density.

This article covers the equipment specification appropriate for Italian tyre baling operations, the PFU regulatory context that governs tyre processing in Italy, and the specific considerations for equipment operation in Mediterranean climate conditions.

Italian PFU Market: Volumes and Processing Routes

Italian PFU management is organised through two authorised consortia: Ecopneus and Greentyre, which together manage the collection and recycling of the majority of end-of-life tyres generated in Italy. These consortia contract with authorised collection centres and processing facilities across Italy, creating a structured market for tyre processing equipment. Facilities within the Ecopneus and Greentyre networks process tyres to granulate, TDF, and civil engineering bale specifications, with the latter requiring baling equipment that produces structurally consistent bales for civil engineering buyers.

Equipment Specification for Italian Tyre Processors

Italian tyre processing operations typically handle a mixed stream of passenger car tyres, commercial vehicle tyres, and in some agricultural regions, a proportion of agricultural and OTR tyres. Equipment specification must accommodate this mix. The standard Italian PFU collection centre receives tyres in mixed sizes, requiring either a car tyre baler with sidewall cutting pre-processing for commercial vehicle tyres, or a truck tyre baler capable of handling the larger commercial vehicle tyre cross-sections.

The Mediterranean climate creates specific considerations for outdoor tyre storage in Italy. High summer temperatures accelerate rubber degradation in loose tyre stacks and create fire risk conditions that are a primary concern for Italian environmental permit authorities. Baling significantly reduces the fire risk profile of tyre storage by reducing the surface area exposed to ignition and improving the structural stability of the stored material. Italian environmental authorities are correspondingly more receptive to higher storage quantities for baled than for loose tyres.

Gradeall’s MKII tyre baler is manufactured at the Dungannon, Northern Ireland facility and exported to Mediterranean markets including Italy. The equipment operates on standard EU 3-phase 415V 50Hz supply and carries CE marking under the EU Machinery Directive. Full technical documentation in English is provided with each unit, with Italian-language summary documentation available on request.

Civil Engineering Applications in Italy

Tyre bale civil engineering applications are less developed in Italy than in the UK but are growing as Italian civil engineers become more familiar with the technique through EU-funded demonstration projects and academic research. Italian road construction, flood defence, and noise barrier applications represent potential markets for compliant tyre bales from Italian processors. Several Italian universities and the ENEA (National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development) have conducted research on tyre bale applications in Italian construction conditions.

“Civil engineering is the highest-value market for tyre bales globally, and Italy is a large enough economy to develop a domestic civil engineering bale market as the technique becomes better established,” says Conor Murphy, Director of Gradeall International. “Italian processors who invest in PAS 108-capable baling equipment now are positioning to serve both the export market for civil engineering bales and the developing domestic Italian market as it matures.”

Gradeall also manufactures OTR tyre processing equipment for the agricultural and construction tyre streams that Italian processors encounter. The OTR tyre cutting equipment range covers the splitters and shears used to reduce large agricultural and construction tyres to a processable form before baling or shredding.

Italian Import Procedures for UK-Origin Equipment

Post-Brexit, UK-manufactured equipment imported to Italy is subject to EU customs procedures at the Italian port of entry or at another EU border crossing. Italian import VAT (IVA) at 22% applies to the customs value of the equipment, though Italian VAT-registered businesses recover this as input tax. Import duty on waste processing machinery from the UK depends on the specific commodity code; most industrial processing machinery is subject to relatively low MFN duty rates, and the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement may provide tariff reduction depending on the equipment’s rules of origin compliance.

FAQs

← Back to news